CareerBuilder releases new labor market rankings

In late May, CareerBuilder released its second quarter Labor Market 150 Index, which attempts to evaluate and rank the country’s largest metros. Using data from the employment website’s data arm, EMSI, or Economic Modeling Specialists International, the index cites a number of measures, including quality employment and job postings – of which some are weighted more heavily than others – and converts the results into overall rankings (represented as a percentage). This quarter’s top spot went to Provo, Utah.

Only one spot down the list, Houston, with an overall score of 70 percent, stayed consistent with its first-quarter ranking of No. 2. With the combination of strong core industries and a booming housing market, Houston has been, thus far, able to withstand the damaging effects of last year’s drop in oil prices. However, as we’ve reported in the past, the larger effects on jobs and home prices may not fully register until late 2016, early 2017.

One of the primary measures of CareerBuilder’s index was “quality employment rank,” which is determined using metro-specific employment fluctuations in key driver industries from 2001 to 2014, as well as projections from 2014 to 2020. EMSI defines a “driver industry” as “any industry with 1,000 or more jobs in 2014, average industry earnings of at least $50,000 and an employment concentration or location quotient at least 20 percent above the national average.”

In its analysis, Houston was second in the nation.

Another key measure in the index was “job postings growth,” which captures the change in the number of unique online listings from March 2014 to Feb. 2015.

The Bayou City failed to stand out with new job postings, which might indicate a slowdown in new industry growth.